Great Rock Albums of 1979: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- Damn the Torpedoes

When I first heard the first single from this great album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Don’t Do Me Like That,” I was convinced that whoever called this band “punk” back in 1978 was a complete and utter moron whose idea of hard rock was probably Hall and Oates. “Damn the Torpedoes” proved to me that they were a good tight rocking outfit, not that there’s anything wrong with punk because there isn’t. I just found the album very enjoyable.

It is true that “Don’t Do Me Like That” was the song that first properly turned my head to this band and this album but “Damn the Torpedoes” does contain my all time favourite song by these guys, “Refugee.” As always, the album isn’t just down to the singles although I do like their third single from this album, “Here Comes My Girl.” There some killer tracks on here as well like “Century City” and “What You Doin’ In My Life” to name just two. All of them have that trademark that made Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers famous.

Track Listing:

1. Refugee

2. Here Comes My Girl

3. Even the Losers

4. Shadow of a Doubt

5. Century City

6. Don’t Do Me Like That

7. You Tell Me

8. What You Doin’ In My Life

9. Louisiana

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty- guitar, lead vocals, harmonica

Mike Campbell- lead and slide guitars, keyboards, accordion

Benmont Tench- piano, organ, harmonium, vocals

Ron Blair- bass

Stan Lynch- drums, vocals

I have always been of the mind that as a unit, the Heartbreakers have been severely underrated as a band. It is true that Tom Petty is the front man and you can’t take anything away from his talents, but the rest of the band seems to have been largely ignored and that to me is a shame. Have a listen to this classic album and you’ll see what I mean.